Tires Nokia or KENDA
They had been recommended to me by a couple friends, but obviously you have to try it before you really know. This is *my* take on these tires **after only one ride**. I can corner better than I've ever been able to on a 29er. I feel more comfortable going through loose sand and dirt. Traction on most surfaces that I rode on (packed dirt, loose dirt, rocks, road, and gravel) was much higher. Due to the above, I was able to go faster through more areas of trail. Rolling over small objects was smoother. Rolling resistance is much higher than I had thought, but it doesn't stop you dead. To me, this simply means I have to work a little harder, which I have no problem doing.
I ended up going onto the Nokian website and searched around for the right snow tires for an EV. They actually have them. They have them up to a 99 load rating which is much better than the 95s I had. Made a huge difference in handling...
I too was running Nokian Haks and it was almost uncanny how good the traction was not just in deep fresh but on compacted snow and ice. The EV is a very heavy vehicle and having 2/3 the weight (depending on cargo) over the drive wheels makes a very stable setup.
17" of snow We just received an official 17.1" of snow so here is how my 01mv did with a set of Nokian Haks: At the end of the storm I tried to drive uphill to my house on an unplowed residential street. Made it most of the way before getting stuck - the front bumper was pushing snow.
Ditto on the Nokians from me as well. On my 2nd set after 50K miles and find my speed control chimes going off regularly now (set at 96 MPH) because the ride is just so smooth.
Ditto on the Nokians. On three Touaregs, I've had Dunlops, Pirellis, Falkens, Hankooks and am on my second set of Nokians. It's night and day.
Ride is better than the Michelins they replaced, and traction seems to be excellent, but at 50 lbs. inflation there was a little sidewall flex on fast cornering. Noise is roughly the same as the Michelins; maybe a little quieter. Gas mileage on the trip was 20.2
safest choice... the NOKIAN WR or WR G2 all-weather plus, year rounders that qualify for severe service emblem. the g2 has low rolling resistance. you can see about a 6% savings in fuel w/ this guy.
Nokian. Don't consider anything else. I have been using the Hakka RSi's for years and they are fantastic tires. With two differend FWD cars (current A3 and old Jetta VR6), I was passing sport utes which couldn't even get up hills in 4WD. The only issue is that the RSi's are very soft and don't last long. For that reason, I will go with the WR's which can be run all season. I would recommend going down to a 16" for potholes and such. Check with Rim and Wheel Works in Waltham. They are a Nokian dealer and can find you some good Rims. I bought some Ronals, but you can't buy them anymore, but in retrospect, I shoulda just gotten some cheap steelies for $50 a pop.
I can echo the feelings of the dry pavement handling, coming around a corner with a bit of enthusiasm you can feel the car start to slide around. I'm sure once the snow and ice come the trade-off will be justified, but fairly unnerving in the dry to say the least.
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